


I only meant to talk (But ended up falling for you)

by Q_it



Series: The Pun Verse [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Bad Puns, Darcy is an adult god dammit, F/M, Fluff and Crack, Loki is a musician, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-27
Updated: 2015-04-27
Packaged: 2018-03-26 00:01:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3829738
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Q_it/pseuds/Q_it
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It started exactly three months, four days, one minute and two seconds after she first saw him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I only meant to talk (But ended up falling for you)

It started exactly three months, four days, one minute and two seconds after she first saw him.

Darcy’s life had been going wonderfully. She had recently moved into a house after landing a sweet job with SHIELD and paying off a great deal of her college loans. It was a sweet place. It had a wide kitchen, a jacuzzi bathtub, and the living room was downright cozy. Not to mention, she was actually starting to feel like a responsible adult at the prime age of twenty-six.

You see, she was always chastised, as the youngest of four siblings, for being the kid. The baby. The one who needed looking after the most. People constantly referred to her as ‘kid’ and ‘girl’.

Well, not anymore! She was Darcy Lewis, a.k.a., the most responsible and grown up adult of this decade! Ever since she was eighteen, she was determined to show the world that she could handle anything, no matter what. She wasn’t just a ‘big kid’ anymore, she was a legally accountable adult who paid her taxes and everything. Her bathroom might be rubber ducky themed and her bedroom might be purple, but she was still an adult. A really colorful, fun adult.

Just as she had gotten settled in, preparing to show the world what grown-up Darcy lewis was about and had been living in her awesome grown-up house for a total of one week, he moved in.

Him.

Her neighbor.

It started out as a regular, sunny, Sunday morning when a single moving van stopped in the driveway of the house next to hers and unloaded a grand piano, a mattress, and four small boxes. That was all.

They dropped everything off rather quickly and left, leaving a man standing alone in the front yard.

Now, Darcy had seen a lot of men.

But this one in particular was...special.

Maybe it was something about the way he stood. How very lonely he seemed, leaning against the thick maple tree on his new property. Maybe it was the length of his black hair; long enough to brush his shoulders, but tidy enough that it didn’t look dirty. Admittedly, Darcy wanted to run her fingers through it.

She watched him walk inside, not missing the angry glare that coated his features and the tiny hint of sadness that welled in his eyes.

From that day on, Darcy Lewis was infatuated.

Everyday, evidence of her neighbor was there, drawing her from the thrilling duties of being a responsible adult to fantasize about him in a fashion similar to that of a girlish crush.

Nevertheless, she observed his insanely distracting existence.

First of all, apparently the guy didn’t sleep.

Like, ever.

All night, every night, she could hear the soft plinking of a piano, sending gentle melodies through the comfy space between their houses. She found herself, before she climbed into bed, cracking open her window to better hear the smooth flowing tunes that put her to sleep faster than any lullaby ever could.

Second, she kept waiting for more moving trucks to show up, but they never did. All through her less than exciting desk job at SHIELD, all she could think about was how little he had. Where were his memories? His photos? His family heirlooms? He just seemed so lonely. When she sat in bed at night, listening to his piano playing, she very nearly wept for him without so much as knowing his name.

Third, they never talked.

This would have been better if she wasn’t increasingly aware of his presence in the house next to hers, but she was. On Saturday mornings, when she went on her weekly jog, she would pass by his house and every time, she could see him sitting in a single chair by the window, holding a plain mug with the telltale string of a teabag hanging out the side.

It was only a week after his appearance, that they began to make brief eye contact as she ran by.

Every time this happened, Darcy’s heart would stutter in a way that had nothing to do with her body’s abhorrence to physical activity.

As it turned out, her neighbor didn’t leave his house a lot. But when he did, it was on Sunday morning when he’d go for a run. He would stretch for just a moment on his front porch, jogging just until he passed her living room window where she sat to drink coffee and read. After that one quick glance, he would sprint away, giving her fabulous proof of why God loved her and wanted her to be happy.

That ass.

This.

This of all things had Darcy Lewis’ adulthood dignity flying through the window after his gorgeous ass, tightly outfitted in exercise pants.

No one’s ass should look that good. It should be illegal to run with that thing where innocent adult neighbor’s can see.

That ass is where the fantasies came from.

Darcy had a vision, that one day she was going to go out running after him and he would slow to a jog so they could walk and talk and laugh and she could see what his face looked like with an actual smile on it.

She envisioned an entire relationship around that moment happening. Where she runs beside him and they begin a conversation that ends in an epic love affair. He would share his music with her, and she would unabashedly stare at his ass because those are just a few of the benefits of dating people.

This fantasizing process had been going on for two weeks when Darcy realized that the stability of her adult mind was slipping away in favor of a naive adolescence.

But still…

_____________________________

“Darcy!” Jane shouted, snapping her fingers.

“Wha?” She sat up, shaking her head free of the melody Mr. Neighbor had been playing last night until the wee hours of the morning.

Jane rolled her eyes gesturing to Darcy’s turkey sandwich. “We’ve only got like ten minutes left on lunch break and you’ve eaten nothing.”

Darcy yawned, rubbing her eyes and effectively smearing her make up. Yep. Adulthood...ruined. “Ugh, My life!”

The two women had met through SHIELD. Jane worked in their more scientific division where Darcy’s position was in the political undertakings of the government agency. They had become quick friends, and spent a lot of time together. “Seriously Darce? You’re usually the one making me eat. And finally, I have a guy I wanna talk about and you’re all...this.” she made a gesture to the brunette’s disheveled appearance.

“Wait, there’s a guy?” Darcy asked, sitting up frantically.

Jane huffed. “Yes. I’ve been talking about him all of lunch. He’s a foreign consultant to SHIELD and he’s gorgeous. His name's Thor and apparently he’s in the States for a whole year. We have a date Saturday.”

“Wow.” Darcy said, absolutely bewildered. How had this happened? Jane had gotten a date before her? When she, Darcy Lewis, was living next to the greatest piece of musical-ass man candy for the past three months?! Unacceptable.

Jane seemed even more concerned now. “What’s wrong? Are you sick? Why are you not jumping up and down like someone spiked your coffee with adrenaline?”

Darcy groaned, letting her head fall to the table. her face wasn’t meant to land into the turkey sandwich, but it did. “I’m happy for you Jane.” she said, voice muffled by white bread and tomato.

“Darcy? Seriously, what’s going on? You’re scaring me.” Jane asked, brows scrunching together.

Darcy sat up, suddenly very angry. Her cheek was coated in mayonnaise and she had a bit of turkey stuck to her eyebrow, but she didn’t care. “Jane, my neighbor is a useless poophead!” she shouted and everyone in the sandwich shop’s head turned to the irritable bespeckled woman.

Jane’s eyes widened to the size of platters. “Ookaay. Why?”

Bitterly, Darcy wiped sandwich off her face. “He’s so stupid. He plays the piano till God knows what in the morning and he drinks tea! Tea, Jane! And he goes on runs on Sundays and he has no furniture. Why doesn’t he have furniture!? Who the fuck doesn’t have furniture!? And he looks so sad all the time. All the time. And he runs...in tight pants. Really. Tight. Pants. His ass speaks to me and he’s lived next door to me for three months, three days, four hours, eleven minutes, and five...six seconds!”

Jane blinked.

Then she blinked again.

“So, you have a crush on your neighbor because of your apparent fetish for tight pants and depressed musicians?”

Darcy blushed at the word ‘crush’. “Um, no. I am an adult, Jane. Adults don’t have crushes. I…” she searched for a more grown-up word. “...fancy him.”

Jane raised a brow. “Uh huh. You know what else adults don’t have?”

“What?”

“Creepy catalogued knowledge about the guy they have a crush on.” Jane pointed out, crossing her arms.

Darcy sulked into her palms. “But he’s so...and his music...and….”

Jane patted the girl on her arm, “Darce?”

“Yeah?”

“You’re being pathetic. Just go talk to him.”

Darcy huffed indignantly. “I’m not being pathetic.”

“It bothers you that he doesn’t have furniture.” Jane sighed, rubbing her brow and balling up her napkin. “You don’t even know his name and you screamed into your sandwich over him.”

Resolve clicked in Darcy’s head. “You know what, Janey? You’re right.”

“I know, I--”

“I am being a child!” Darcy bellowed, standing up and banging a fist down into her sandwich. “I am Darcy fucking Lewis and if I like this guy, I’m going to talk to him!”

“Good. Now--”

“AND WE WILL DO ‘THE DO’ ON THE PIANO!” Darcy finished, successfully bringing all the attention in the sandwich shop back on her and Jane.

The scientist was obviously less than impressed as she buried her face in her hand. “Oh God. We’re never eating here again.”

________________________________________

That Sunday, Darcy had her plan set out.

For the first time since Mr. Hot-Neighbor moved in, she had skipped her Saturday run. That meant she did not make quick eye contact with him and the only reason she knew he still existed was because of his piano playing. The melody was different that night. Usually, the pieces favored more aggressive tones that could make her heart break over and over again.

But this one...it was softer. The harmonies rolled off each other like waves and it was so sweet, she had cried into her purple pillowcase.

That morning, she woke up in time to get dressed in the cutest running outfit she had. Tight enough to show off her curves and still keep everything from hitting her in the face while she ran. She checked her ponytail in the mirror, watching for Mr. Neighbor to jog past before she left.

On her front porch, she straightened her headband, starring appreciatively after Mr. Neighbor’s tight-white shirt.

This was going to be great. She was going to run after him, and they would run side by side. And then, he would slow down and smile at her and then she would make an awesome joke about the weather or something and he would realize how cute and quirky she was and he would have no choice but to fall in love with her.

It was a great plan.

Straightening her headband, Darcy bounced on the balls of her feet. “Oh yeah. _So_ gonna happen.”

Then she ran.

The plan was going spectacularly so far. She was halfway to him, running along at his insane pace that made her wonder if this guy was even human. Seriously, who ran that fast? Not Darcy.

In fact, she was starting to feel a little bit light headed from all the strenuous activity. That’s when everything went sour.

Her light-headedness was so powerful that she stumbled, gracelessly tripping over an inconveniently placed weed that caused the inevitable fall to the concrete.

“Ow!” she yelped as she fell to the ground in a panicked tumble. Her head hit the sidewalk and she somehow managed to scrape her knee as well. Hastily, she made to recover from her fall, but the heat of the day, combined with her breathlessness, had her nearly tumbling to the ground again once she’d gotten to her feet. Her knees were inches away from the pavement when two strong hands grabbed her upper arms, stopping her humiliating collapse.

“Are you alright?” asked a musical, sultry baritone. He also sounded very British. Mm. British.

Darcy squeezed her eyes shut, willing this specific event not to be happening. “Oh no, please tell me you aren’t who I think you are.”

Her eyes were still shut as she carefully regained her balance, though the hands remained on her shoulders. “Well, who do you think I am?”

Darcy groaned, a noteable shot of pain throbbing at her temple. “Obviously, you’re my really hot neighbor who I was going to make fall in love with me today with my awesome joke about the weather. But it’s not happening because I messed it up. We weren’t supposed to meet like this.”

“No?” he asked, a slight trace of humor in his tone. “Assuming I am your...hot neighbor...how exactly was a joke supposed to make me fall in love with you?”

Darcy smirked, making sure to keep her eyes closed. She had her balance now, but his hands stayed on her shoulders, and she wasn’t objecting because...damn...he had nice hands. “I was going to make you smile. And then you would realise how awesome it is to smile and you would want to do it again. After coming to the conclusion that I am the thing that makes you smile with my superbly lame yet funny jokes, you connect the dots, bada bing bada boom, we fall in love and magic happens.”

“That is quite the plan. Though, once again, assuming that I am your hot neighbor, it seems you are at a disadvantage.” he said appreciatively and Darcy grinned, lifting her leg to rub her aching knee.

“I know, right?” she sighed, determinedly keeping her eyes shut. “I seriously have no idea how I’m going to get you to smile now. My life goals have just been limited to about...five hundred and sixty-seven.”

“Only five hundred and sixty-seven?” he said in mock horror and Darcy choked back a laugh as he played along. “How terrible. We can’t have that. Why don’t you try opening your eyes? Then we can settle this ordeal.”

Darcy tapped her chin. “What if you happen to actually be my hot neighbor and you’re not smiling at my obvious wit and charm?”

“I suppose there is only one way to find out.” he chided one hand sliding down her arm so his fingers just touched her wrist.

Darcy pretended that little gesture didn’t have her heart batting at her ribcage like a hummingbird on crack and took a deep breath. Ever so carefully, she peeked up through her lashes at the spectacle of a man before her.

Oh yeah, it was her hot neighbor. He was even hotter up close.

His eyes were green, deep and brooding. But now, they held slight traces of humor and concern. And his cheekbones...holy sweet mother, they looked like they could cut ice. He had fabulous cheekbones. She did herself one big favor by not letting her gaze sweep down his body. There would be time for that later...hopefully.

The last thing she took notice of was the tiny little grin on his lips. It was hesitant, like maybe he hadn’t shared his smiles in a while and he wasn’t quite sure about how they worked.  But it was there, nonetheless.

Darcy cleared her throat, noticing she had been staring with an open mouth. “I...uh...hi.” she winced a little when her head throbbed again.

Mr. Fantastic Cheekbones brought his hand up to run his thumb along the swelling area, the smile on his face slowly dissipating. “This needs ice.”

“Yeah.” Darcy agreed, sensing the opportunity to turn his frown upside down.. “Your hotness probably isn’t going to help the swelling. Really. I’m burning up.”

He raised his brows skeptically, his lips pulling up again, easier this time. “Really?”

“Totes.” she said, beaming up at him. “Maybe we could use your cheekbones to cut out some ice? I think I have a block of it at home.”

The smile got just a teensy bit bigger and Darcy rejoiced internally. “Was that an invitation?”

“That depends, was that a yes?” she countered.

“Hm.” he considered this, amused. “I do not know. If you are as enchanting as you say, who is to say my sentiments will be requited?”

Darcy clicked her tongue, “Well, obviously, I’ve already fallen for you.” she gestured to her knee, unable to resist the hilariously bad pun. However, at these words, he laughed.

Until that moment, Darcy was sure she’d been deaf. Because his laugh was like her eardrums had been reborn into masterful instruments of receiving phonic pleasure. Angels chorused in the distance as his laughing ebbed down to a low chuckle. “It is a yes.”

“Good.” Darcy affirmed. “Because I’m going to make that laughing thing happen again at least fifty more times today. You’re going to fall in love with me so hard. It'll be great.”

He kept an arm snugly around her waist, offering her support. “And may I know the name of my future love?”

She grinned up at him, “Darcy. Darcy Lewis. And who is it that I’m wooing?”

“Loki. Loki....Laufeyson.” he said slowly, as if testing the name for the first time. Gently, he helped her up the steps of her front porch, letting her hold his hand, even though she didn't need the extra assistance.

“Hm, Loki.” Darcy hummed, letting the name roll off her tongue. “You’re going to be trouble, aren’t you?”

He smirked, a tiny bit of bitterness creeping back into his eyes. “You have no idea.”

Darcy made a rash decision to reach up on her toes and press a quick kiss to the hollow of his cheek. She pulled away, just slightly to gauge his reaction. She found his mouth hanging slightly ajar and his ears a satisfying pink. “Hey, I’m an adult. I’m sure I can handle it.”

And that’s how Darcy Lewis fell for Loki three months, four days, one minute and two seconds after she first saw him.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So...that happened. *hem*  
> I appreciate all kudos and comments. Thanks for reading!


End file.
